Chelsea staff delighted by how £26.3m talent is developing and he is now deemed more valuable than Reece James

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Todd Boehly immediately placed a strong emphasis on recruiting young talent after buying Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.

The American put recruitment structures in place to sign the likes of Andrey Santos, Carney Chukwuemeka, Benoit Badiashile, Enzo Fernandez, Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk in his first year at Stamford Bridge.

Gems such as Kendry Paez and Estevao Willian have since been signed too – with this bold recruitment strategy starting to pay off as Chelsea sit second in the Premier League under Enzo Maresca.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
2	ChelseaChelsea	17	10	5	2	37	19	18	35

According to Graeme Bailey – however – there is one young talent in particular at Chelsea who is making a real impact on staff members in the form of Malo Gusto.

Chelsea now deem Malo Gusto as more valuable than Reece James

Recently, there have been rumours that Manchester City and Liverpool want to sign Gusto from Chelsea.

The 21-year-old took his chances in the absence of Reece James quite superbly following his £26.3m move from Lyon back in January 2023, with Gusto sometimes being used by Maresca in a unique attacking role given his quality in possession.

When asked about the alleged interest from Manchester City and Liverpool, Bailey exclusively told The Chelsea Chronicle: “I’ve seen the bits about Gusto being linked elsewhere. What I can say about that is there’s absolutely no thinking inside Chelsea that Gusto is going anywhere.

“The improvement in him since he’s arrived has been spectacular and they could not be delighted with anyone more than Gusto. He’s gonna get his pay rise at some point in the near future. Quote me on this, to get Malo Gusto would cost more than Reece James.”

Seeing as James – who is close friends with Gusto – is the captain of Chelsea and was previously deemed untouchable by the Blues, that is quite a statement to make about the young Frenchman.

Enzo Maresca should reassess how he uses Malo Gusto at times

As aforesaid, Maresca tends to deploy the France U21 international in an inverted role, despite putting him down on paper as a full-back.

Gusto struggled against Everton in this area, missing a big chance and only winning 50% of his defensive duels, so perhaps this tactic needs to be revised by the Italian.

Nevertheless, the man born in Decines-Charpieu remains a tremendous talent, and the sky really is the limit for him in west London with over five years left on his contract.